HALF MILLENIUM OF GHETTO OF VENICE
From Venice, three years of events to reach beyond ghettos everywhere
In 2016, the Ghetto of Venice will be five hundred years old – half a millennium of history dense with obstacles and amazing resources, extraordinary characters and instantly recognizable architecture.
In honor of this exceptional anniversary, the Veneto Association of Youth Literature has prepared VENICE BEYOND THE GHETTO, an itinerary of culture, history, society, art and architecture, and food and wine that speaks of Jews, Venice and the world’s oldest Ghetto, with the intention of reaching far beyond it.
The event will be divided into three phases over a three-years period: 2015, 2016, and 2017 and is organized in collaboration with the Director of the Veneto RAI Center, Giovanni De Luca, and Rabbi Scialom Bahbout, as well as important public and private partners.
The first event took place during the 72nd Venice International Film Festival at the Venice Lido. The presentation of competition for young filmmakers under the age of 35 has started, aimed at the production of a short on the topic “My Ghetto”, to be made with any recording device including cell phones. In 2016, during the 23rd edition of the A Life in Cinema award, prizes will be awarded to the winners of the competition “My Ghetto.”
The same day it was introduced the 2016 edition of Cartoons on the Bay, the festival of animation and cross media organized by Rai Com. The 2015 edition was a great success with the participation of top international artists that stirred up great interest in the media.
These greats of animation will again be present at the 2016 Cartoons on the Bay, to be held in the splendid hall with frescoes by Gianbattista Tiepolo in Palazzo Labia in Venice.
The second phase will be organized, with the five hundredth anniversary of the Ghetto’s creation in mind. In order to deepen the significance of this historic date, the exhibition “Archiscultura” will be held in Venice, of great symbolic importance (location TBA). The 12 meter high sculpture, created by Venetian artist Giorgio Bortoli, is linked to the Ghetto for two reasons: it is of melded metal (the original meaning of the Venetian word Ghetto comes from the word for the nearby foundry where the ghetto was located) and from the houses in the Ghetto, which were quite tall by Venetian standards due to the lack of space.
The event will be held in the campiello next to the Goldoni Theatre of Venice, the plaza itself architecturally a theatrical backdrop that is often host to theatrical performances. A section on the culture of wine and food, including tastings, is planned, accompanied by good music, primarily ethnic, Israeli and Klezmer. There will be stations open to the public, with food preparation respecting kasheruth, the Jewish dietary rules, and reflecting the variety inspired by the cuisine of numerous regions.
During the period May-June 2016, when wine is bottled, there will be a wine tasting event of kosher wine, with the presence of Rabbi Scialom Bahbout. This will be an opportunity for the various wineries that have joined the project VENICE BEYOND THE GHETTO to showcase their products.
Kosher certification is a service offered to quality food processing companies interested in expanding sales in the national and international markets. These companies, following meticulous control by competent rabbinical authorities, can qualify for kosher certification, increasingly considered even by non-Jewish consumers, as a guarantee of quality and food safety. Participating companies will have excellent visibility thanks to project events, and easier distribution in networks that are already active. The winner of the “My Ghetto” competition will be announced during the 2016 Venice Film Festival during the A Life in Cinema Award ceremony. Now twenty years old, the A Life in Cinema prize has been awarded to some of the major figures in cinema today, including Woody Allen, Gillo Pontecorvo, Ennio Morricone, Pino Donaggio, Giuliano Montaldo, as well as younger, already well known actors, such as Mimmo Calopresti and Valeria Golino.
In 2017, Venice Beyond the Ghetto will conclude its three-year journey in New York. To know more about it keep in touch…
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